The Love of Light and Hope
by eveningstar1996
Summary: T.K and Kari are in love with each other, but they're unaware that the other returns their feelings...Will they find out the other's feelings and get together with a little help from Gatomon and Patamon ? xx Takari xx and just a little xx PataGato xx
1. Chapter 1 A Certain Boy

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 1 A Certain Boy

The bell signaling the end of school rang, breaking into Kari's concentration. She looked up, startled to see how fast time had gone by. Science usually dragged on the longest out of all her classes.

"Alright, class is over!" her Science teacher shouted. "See you all on Monday."

Kari exited her classroom and looked around furtively as she walked through the gates of the school. Up in a tree was what appeared to be a white cat with big blue eyes wearing gloves.

"Gatomon, how long have you been sitting up in the tree?" Kari asked as the Digimon jumped out of the tree and onto the ground near her feet.

"Since lunch time," Gatomon grumbled as Kari picked her up and started walking home. "It's been very boring being up in that tree, even with Patamon around."

Kari gave Gatomon a strange look. "Patamon was with you?"

"Yes, but T.K came by a little before school ended and Patamon left," Gatomon explained as the Kamiya's apartment came into view.

T.K…Kari thought. His name echoed in her head, and suddenly she couldn't stop thinking about him. His face appeared in her thoughts.

"Kari? KARI!"

Kari blinked, T.K's face abruptly gone from her thoughts as she stared down at Gatomon's big blue eyes. "W-what?"

"You've been staring into space for the past five minutes, and we're at the door," Gatomon complained, pointing at the door.

"Sorry," Kari muttered, unlocking the door and shutting it behind her.

There was a note on the table from her older brother Tai. At soccer practice, might not be home till 6.

"Does that mean Agumon's here?" Kari wondered aloud, scanning the empty apartment.

"I'm here!" a voice came from the kitchen. Agumon's head appeared from the pantry, and he appeared to be eating some chocolate.

"Hey save some for me!" Gatomon called, leaping onto the floor and running into the pantry.

Kari shook her head, smiling, and walked off into her room.

* * *

A few hours later, she'd finished her homework and was staring off into space. T.K was on her mind again_. I've known him since we first traveled to the Digital World with the original Digidestined four years ago_, _and I never felt like this_, she thought.

She looked at a framed photo sitting on her desk. In it, the eight original Digidestined were smiling at the camera, with their partner Digimon next to them.

_It's been so long since we've all met up together_, Kari thought, reaching out and lightly touching the frame. _I only see any of us when we're at school. Even then, we're all so busy_.

Gatomon walked into the room. "Yolei just called. I think there's something going on in the Digital World."

Kari instantly sprang to her feet, all thoughts of T.K out of her mind. "Did she specify what's going on?"

Gatomon shook her head. "We need to get to school and activate one of the Digiports to get there."

"Right," Kari said, grabbing her Digivice and running out the door with Gatomon close behind. "Agumon, tell Tai if he comes back."

"Sure thing!" Agumon shouted back. "Good luck!"

* * *

Kari arrived at the darkened school that she'd left just hours earlier, Gatomon hard on her heels.

She dashed up into the computer lab, to see Yolei, Cody, and Davis waiting for her with their Digimon. "What's going on? Where's everyone else?"

"Ken says he's on his way, but it'll take him ten minutes to get here," Yolei explained, holding up her Digivice. "And T.K just finished his dinner so he's on his way with Patamon."

Kari's heart beat faster at the mention of T.K, and she felt that her face had gotten a little warmer. She lightly touched her fingers to her cheeks. _What is wrong with me?_

"Kari, why do you look so red?" Davis asked, looking hopeful. "Does this mean you've finally fallen for me?"

Gatomon flicked her tail at him, her ring glinting. "Don't hold your breath, Davis."

Now it was Davis's turn to go red, and he scowled at Gatomon. "Well, you never know!"

"Stop hitting on Kari, we've got a mission to accomplish," Yolei scolded, adjusting her eyeglasses. Poromon fluttered in the air above her shoulder.

T.K arrived, panting and out of breath. Patamon was perched on his shoulder. "Am I late?"

"Yeah, by like five minutes, TJ," Davis shot at him.

"I just arrived here two minutes ago," Kari put in, smiling at T.K.

T.K smiled back at Kari, making her heart beat faster. "Hey, Kari."

"Now we just have to wait for Ken," Yolei grumbled, putting down her grocery bags. "Better eat so you guys have the strength to fight."

DemiVeemon and Poromon quickly started pigging out on the food Yolei had brought from her parents' store. Gatomon sighed and shook her head at the two Digimon eating like pigs. "They act no better than kittens."

Patamon laughed from his perch on T.K's shoulder.

About five minutes later, Ken tore into the classroom, panting and looking like he'd run a marathon, with Minomon behind him. "Sorry I'm late," he managed to gasp out. "But does anyone know what's going on in the Digital World? Yolei's message was seriously cryptic."

Davis sighed. "Izzy messaged me. There've been more control spires popping up in the Digital World."

Ken's eyes were a storm of emotions. Although they had no doubts that he had renounced his past, they all knew that his memories of his days as the Digimon Emperor still haunted him. "Not again."

T.K. frowned. "Please don't tell me that Arukenimon suddenly came back and now she's out to get us again." Everyone pulled faces at the memory of the spider-like Digimon.

"Hopefully not, but that's all the information Izzy had to give me," Davis reported. "Are we going or what?"

Yolei held her Digivice up to the computer. "Digiport open!"

A flash of light enveloped the Digidestined and their Digimon, and they were gone.

* * *

The Digidestined and their Digimon fell out of the computer in Kari's and Tai's apartment a few hours later. "Ouch," Yolei complained, rubbing her head. "Who hit me in the head?"

"That…might've been me," Davis offered meekly, shrinking back.

"Are your goggles that fogged up?" Yolei shrieked, and chased Davis out the door with Poromon fluttering madly to catch up.

"Wait for me!" DemiVeemon shouted as he ran after the bickering duo.

T.K, Cody, and Ken bade their farewells to Kari, and they quietly snuck out of the computer lab.

Kari watched them leave, feeling a sense of loss without T.K. _Oh, how could I feel this way when I don't know what he feels towards me?_ she silently asked herself. _Maybe he sees me as a sister…_

She started walking home, and let out a sigh. Gatamon looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

Kari bit her lip. "Nothing much."

They arrived back at the Kamiya apartment ten minutes later. Kari unlocked the door and gently closed it behind her.

The door opened two seconds later, and Tai walked in. "Hey, Kari."

"Hey Tai. We just got back from the Digital World," Kari informed him, sitting down in the kitchen with a sigh.

"What happened?" Tai asked as he went into his room to change out of his soccer clothes.

"More control spires are randomly popping up, and we don't know what's going on," Kari explained, leaning back in her chair.

Tai frowned as he came out of his room. "Really? Didn't you guys destroy them about a year ago?"

"Yes, but a few are popping back up. Luckily, it's not as bad as it used to be," Kari said, closing her eyes. "Wake me up when it's dinner time, will you? I'm so tired."

"Sure," Tai said, walking into the kitchen. "I'll start preparing dinner."

* * *

My first Digimon fanfic. Reviews greatly appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2 If she doesn't love me

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 2 If she doesn't love me

T.K's POV

T.K entered his room and put down his backpack with a sigh. It had felt like a really long day, with school and returning to the Digital World to get rid of even more unknown control spires…

He lay down on his bed, and stared up at the ceiling, and thought about Kari. She was so beautiful, and so sweet and kind…He was so lost in thought he didn't notice that his backpack was wriggling like crazy.

"T.K!" a voice shouted.

T.K immediately sat up, startled from thinking about Kari, and looked around. "W-what?"

"I'M STILL STUCK IN HERE!"

T.K rushed over to his backpack and unzipped it as fast as he could. Patamon flew out, looking very disgruntled. "T.K, you forgot about me!" the Digimon complained, flapping his big wings like crazy.

T.K let out a huge sigh, sounding like a deflated balloon. "Sorry, Patamon. I've had a lot on my mind."

"What are you thinking about?" Patamon asked as he settled onto T.K's bed.

T.K hesitated. Did he dare tell Patamon about his feelings for Kari?

_Patamon wouldn't tell anyone_, he decided. _Besides, it would help to get it off my chest_.

"Ah, Patamon…I…I'm in love with Kari," he blurted out. Then he quickly put down his head, hiding his eyes from view.

Patamon tilted his head as he stared at T.K. "You're in love with her?" He sounded very confused.

T.K could tell Patamon wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about. "Uh…I like Kari more than a friend. A lot more than a friend."

"Oh!" Patamon said, nodding his head. "Well…if you like Kari, then why don't you tell her?"

"No!" T.K shouted.

Patamon winced and fluttered his wings. "Hey, it was only an idea."

"Sorry. It's just…she's so beautiful….and so nice and sweet…how could a guy like me ever be able to ask her out?" T.K asked, laying back down on his bed, deep in thought. Patamon scooted out of the way and landed on T.K's side.

"You and Kari have known each for years," Patamon reminded him, widening his blue eyes at him, "and besides, I think you'd make a good…partner for her."

"Boyfriend," T.K corrected.

"Oh…well I think you'd make a good boyfriend for her," Patamon said.

"Thanks, but that's not enough," T.K said miserably. "If Kari's going to have a boyfriend, she needs to be romanced the right way. I can't just go up to her and tell her I love her."

"Why not?" Patamon asked.

"You can't just go up and blurt your feelings out if you don't even know how the other person feels!" T.K explained. He ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "And don't even get me started on Davis. If he finds out I'm in love with Kari, he's going to go through the roof."

Patamon chortled at that. "Haha, it's hilarious! He thought he was going to save 'Princess Kari' that one time."

"And don't even get me started on the first time I met him," T.K grumbled. He got all jealous that I knew Kari way before he did. Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was jealous which made it even funnier. I think that's why he still messes up my name whenever he talks to me."

Patamon rolled his eyes and paused for a moment. "Well…you love Kari, right?"

"Of course I love her," T.K whispered. "I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't love me back…I don't even know if she likes anyone right now, and I'm sure it'll look fishy if I asked her!"

"Don't worry too much," Patamon assured him. "I'll talk to Gatomon, and we'll work something out."

T.K eyed Patamon a little warily. "You're going to talk…to Gatomon?"

"I'm sure she won't say anything to Kari if I asked her not to," Patamon said confidently. "Maybe she can tell me if she thinks Kari likes anyone. We'll think of a plan from there."

T.K sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "It would be one of the best things in my life if I could find out if Kari loves me."

"Hey, maybe you could ask Matt for advice," Patamon pointed out as he flew up into the air. "He is your older brother. Maybe he has more experience than you and could help you."

_Patamon has a point_, T.K mused to himself. _Matt's in a band, and he does have lots of girls swooning over him. Maybe I could ask him for help_.

"You're probably right," he said a little absently.

"I'm going to go find Gatomon and talk to her," Patamon said.

"Now?" T.K demanded, looking out the window. It was way past sunset now, and it was dark outside.

"I promise I won't get seen," Patamon said, hovering near the window.

T.K grumbled to himself but finally said, "Okay, fine. But get back by bedtime!"

"I'm going to be back after dinner," Patamon called to him as he flew out the window.

At that moment, T.K heard the door open. "Hey, is anyone here?"

"Hey, Matt!" he called, getting off his bed and stepping towards the hallway. "Mom still isn't home yet."

"She's working late again?" Matt grumbled as he put down his guitar. "Guess I have to start cooking before we have a late dinner."

After Matt had started his preparations, T.K finally felt brave enough to broach his question. "Uh, Matt…"

"Yes?" Matt replied, not looking up as he bustled around the kitchen.

"What do you do…if you want to show a girl that you like her?"

Matt now looked up, raising his eyebrows at his younger brother. "Now what makes you want to ask me that? Got a special girl on your mind?"

"Actually, yes," T.K said, "and I need a little help on getting her to…well, notice me."

Matt put some plates down on the table before he looked up again. "It depends on the girl. But in general, be polite, give her some presents, and do things that'll definitely make her notice you."

T.K nodded, his blue eyes distant. "Alright. Thanks, Matt!"

* * *

How is it? Sorry it's kind of short, but hopefully my next chapters will be a little longer. Reviews appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3 Patamon's Talk

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 3 Patamon's Talk

Kari was picking up her camera and going through some old photos in her room when there was a slight knock on the window.

She frowned and crossed her room to the window. She peered out the window, but she saw nothing there. "I don't see anyone there."

"Kari, it's me, Patamon!"

Kari's brown eyes grew very round and she opened the window. Patamon fluttered in through the window and sat down on the floor. "Hello Patamon. What are you doing here?"

"I…er, needed to talk to Gatomon," Patamon said, looking down at the floor.

"Why?" Kari asked, tilting her head as she looked at him.

Patamon opened his mouth to respond, trying to think of a good reason of why he was visiting at Kari's house, but was saved from having to answer when Gatomon walked in through the door. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him, her blue eyes going round with surprise. "Patamon! What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you about something," Patamon said, shooting a look at Kari.

Kari laughed when she saw Patamon look at her. "Private Digimon stuff?"

"Yeah!" Patamon said a little too enthusiastically, nodding his head. "Very private. So private we can't have anyone else listening in."

"Okay, okay. I'll get out for five minutes and then you're all moving out on the couch in the living room," Kari said, picking up her camera. She got up and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Once she was gone, Patamon turned to Gatomon. "I have a serious problem going on."

"Why?" Gatomon asked, lying down on her back and batting lightly at Patamon with her paws.

"T.K confessed something very important to me," Patamon whispered into Gatomon's ear after a quick look around. Gatomon sat up, her eyes going wide as she stared at him.

"Does it have anything to do with Kari…?" Gatomon asked delicately, lightly running a paw over one of her ears.

Patamon gasped and fell flat on his back in shock. "How did you even know?"

Gatomon jumped, looking extremely surprised that her guess was right. "I was just kidding! Sort of, I mean." She ran over to Patamon, and extended her paw. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…just amazed," Patamon muttered. He took Gatomon's paw and got back up. "So anyway…T.K told me that he's in love with Kari. He doesn't want to confess to her because he's afraid she doesn't like him back, and I think he's kind of scared of Davis' reaction."

Gatomon rolled her eyes at the mention of Davis. "Please. I can tell you that Kari doesn't like Davis in any way. She just finds his crush on her funny, and sometimes she does get really annoyed. He's way too overprotective of her."

"Did she tell you that?" Patamon asked. _Maybe the job won't be so hard to get Kari to fall for T.K_…

"No, but I know she's probably thinking that," Gatomon said. She briskly licked one of her gloved paws and rubbed it over her face. "Now, you're not sure if Kari likes T.K back, am I right?"

Patamon nodded. "I feel so bad for T.K! He looked so miserable when he was telling me he wished Kari would like him back."

"I don't know if Kari likes anyone," Gatomon said, putting her paw up to her face as she thought. "But I can tell you this. She's been really distracted since this afternoon and seems like she's daydreaming. Maybe she _does_ have someone on her mind."

"How are we supposed to find out?" Patamon grumbled, lying flat on his belly. "We can't just go up to her and ask her if she likes anyone. T.K's right – it would look pretty fishy."

"Fishy as my dinner," Gatomon agreed. "I've got an idea. Let's pretend to leave the room. When Kari comes back, we'll stay outside her door and eavesdrop."

"Perfect idea!" Patamon said. "Let's go."

The two Digimon walked out of Kari's room. "We're done talking," Gatomon called to Kari.

Kari sat up, and yawned. "Okay, I'm just going to finish sorting my photos and go to bed." She got up and returned to her room, shutting the door behind her.

Tai then walked out of the bathroom, his hair dripping wet, and stopped in his tracks when he saw Gatomon and Patamon. "Uh…hi Patamon."

"Hi Tai!" Patamon said cheerily.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Tai asked, raising his eyebrows at the little Digimon.

"Paying Gatomon a visit," Patamon said. "What else would I be doing?"

Tai shrugged. "If you want some food later, check the fridge." He walked off into the direction of his own room.

"Thanks, Tai!" Patamon shouted.

"That was a close one," Gatomon whispered to him. "Let's do a little bit of eavesdropping."

The two Digimon then hurried to the door of Kari's room, and put their ears against the door.

"I can barely hear anything," Patamon complained in a very soft undertone.

"Then hush and let me hear! My ears are better than yours," Gatomon hissed back at him.

"No need to rub it in," Patamon grumbled.

They heard Kari humming to herself softly. "It sounds like a love song," Gatomon whispered to Patamon.

"I know what a love song is," Patamon said back to Gatomon, glaring at her.

Gatomon almost fell over with laughter, but righted herself. She put her paws over her mouth as she shook with silent laughter.

"What's so funny?" Patamon demanded.

"You are not scary when you glare at people," Gatomon whispered. "You only look very cute."

If Patamon could've blushed, he would've been beet-red by now. He rolled his eyes. "Are we listening in or not?"

"Fine, fine!"

From inside, they heard Kari stop humming. She heaved a great sigh. "I wonder if he thinks about me…"

Gatomon and Patamon stared at each other in shock. Who on earth was Kari talking about?

"But probably to him, I'm just a sister," Kari continued in a soft voice. "I wonder if he would ever look at me in a way that's not just his friend. T.K, I wish you returned my feelings."

At this, Patamon's eyes went huge with shock and he fell over on his side with a thump.

Gatomon glanced at the door in alarm, and dragged him over to the couch. The two Digimon were sitting on the couch when Kari opened her door.

"What happened? I thought I heard someone fall," she said, looking around.

"_Someone_ can't keep his balance when I'm pushing," Gatomon quickly said, shooting a fake glare at Patamon.

"Just because I have wings doesn't mean I can fly on command, okay?" Patamon said, rubbing his side. "That sort of hurt. I'm going home now."

"I'll walk you to the door," Gatomon said, getting up and walking out. Kari laughed, and returned to her room.

"We've made progress!" Patamon whispered as he flew up to open the door.

"I know. Let's discuss what we'll do in the morning," Gatomon said.

"Okay, good night!" Patamon called as he flew out the door and back home to T.K.


	4. Chapter 4 A Plan

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 4 A Plan

The next morning, when Kari woke up, Gatomon was perched in her bed. When she heard Kari getting up, Gatomon turned around and startled Kari.

"Gatomon!" Kari said in surprise, sitting up and Gatomon landed on the floor on all fours.

"I want to ask you something private," Gatomon said seriously. She flicked her tail a bit nervously, and the sun glinted off her tail ring.

"Go ahead, but make it quick," Kari said as she climbed out of bed and started to get dressed for another school day.

"Well…do you like anyone?"

Kari froze as she combed through her hair. "W-what makes you think that?" she asked. _Uh oh! Nice way of being subtle. _

"It's just…you've been acting pretty absent minded for the past few weeks or so, and last night, me and Patamon heard you wishing someone liked you," Gatomon said.

Kari groaned, and sat down on her desk chair with a thump. "I just _had_ to say that when you were with Patamon," she muttered. _Now who I like isn't going to be a secret anymore! Why did I have to say that? _She sighed.

"Do you?" Gatomon asked, tilting her head.

"Yes…I do like someone."

"Well…who is it?" Gatomon asked curiously. _I hope it's T.K_, she thought to herself. _I think it is, but you never know…_

"You know him," Kari said at last. "And you definitely know his Digimon."

"Tell me!" Gatomon said impatiently, tapping her paws against the floor.

"Promise not to tell him?" Kari asked, staring into Gatomon's eyes.

"But-"

"Promise, or I won't tell you," Kari insisted, her brown eyes pleading. "I don't want him to know!"

Gatomon sighed, and held up her paw to promise. "I promise I won't tell the boy you like that you like him." _Maybe T.K will do it, if it really _is_ him_, she reflected to herself.

"I like…T.K," Kari quietly confessed.

_Patamon's and T.K's wishes will come true!_ Gatomon silently cheered. Aloud she asked, "Why haven't you told him yet? You guys already know each other pretty well, so I don't see the harm in telling him."

Kari looked miserable now, and she combed through her hair again. "I bet he only thinks of me as a little sister. Or at least, just a friend." _I wonder if he'll ever realize that I love him_, she thought miserably as she picked up her bag and got out of the room.

Gatomon really wanted to tell Kari that T.K reciprocated her feelings – but she wanted to get Kari and TK together for sure. With Kari's mindset right now, she wouldn't believe her even though she was telling the truth. The truth would have to come from T.K himself for Kari to believe.

_This is going to be a long day_, she thought with a sigh.

* * *

Kari finished her cereal as fast as she could and got ready to leave for school. Gatomon ran after her before she closed the door. "Wait for me!"

"Are you coming to school today?" Kari asked, looking at the little Digimon in confusion. Gatomon made a huge fuss when she had to be stuffed into a schoolbag and pretend to be a plush.

"No, I'm just headed for T.K's. I might stop by later," Gatomon said casually. She waited to see her partner's reaction.

"You're spending a lot of time with Patamon lately," Kari said ruefully with a sigh. If only I could go with her and see Patamon's owner… "Well, if you see T.K, tell him I said hi, okay?"

"Sure," Gatomon said as she walked out onto the sidewalk. "But you'll see him anyway," she added pointedly, which caused Kari to blush.

Gatomon headed on towards T.K's apartment, hiding out of side whenever she saw people. She finally made it to his apartment without being seen. She made a giant leap and rang the doorbell.

T.K ran to the door and threw the door open. He looked around, confused. "Is anyone there?"

"Hi, T.K!" Gatomon said, popping out from behind the door. "Is Patamon here?"

"Yeah…" T.K trailed off when he looked over his shoulder and caught sight of the clock. "Oh no, gotta go! Shut the door behind you!"

With that, he took off at a run, leaving Gatomon at the door with Patamon.

"Hi, Gatomon. Are we discussing how to get T.K and Kari together?" Patamon asked, flying up to shut the door.

"Yeah, but I want a drink first!" Gatomon said, looking pointedly at the juice can Patamon was carrying in his arms.

Patamon opened the fridge and Gatomon took a bottle of apple juice.

"So…Kari confessed to me that she likes T.K! But she made me swear not to tell him, or she wouldn't tell me," Gatomon confided in between sips of apple juice.

"Well…that's a start," Patamon offered uncertainly. "But now we have to get them together and make them confess to each other!"

"Sounds easy, but each of our partners are worrying that the other doesn't like them!" Gatomon said crossly, taking off one of her gloves to lick at her face. "Honestly, humans are so weird sometimes. They don't just go up to each other and say what they want to."

Patamon fell flat on his back, and sighed. "Honestly…"

"Hmm….maybe one of us could get lost, and then T.K and Kari will look for us!" Gatomon suggested, her blue eyes wide with excitement.

"Yeah, but how do we get them to spontaneously confess to each other?" Patamon demanded.

"You're right," Gatomon glumly conceded, her tail drooping. The light shone on her tail ring, making it gleam in the sunlight.

Patamon gasped and had a plan. "That's it! We'll say that your tail ring's missing! Then once when we look for it, I'll 'search' for it with you, and T.K and Kari can pair up! We could send them somewhere romantic…"

"That's an excellent idea!" Gatomon said, standing and pacing around the room agitatedly. "Hmm…somewhere romantic…"

"What about the river?" Patamon suggested, propping himself up on the couch.

"That's just perfect! If we could get them to the river when it's almost sunset, that would be a really romantic moment," Gatomon agreed enthusiastically.

"Now…we just have to wait for them to come home," Patamon said, a mischievous look in his eyes.

"And I have to hide my tail ring very well," Gatomon added, taking the ring off of her tail and holding it.

"Can't you just tuck it into your glove?" Patamon asked.

Gatomon scowled at him. "That's not comfortable. I thought you were smarter than that, Patamon!"

"Sorry, sorry," Patamon muttered. "Just hide it before we put the plan in action!"

* * *

Kari was doodling in the margins of her notebook as her Science teacher droned on. The bell rang, and she quickly packed up her things.

She looked down at her notebook and almost blushed. She'd doodled a heart and written TK in the margins, but she now erased it and stuffed the notebook into her bag.

"Hey, Kari!" she heard a familiar voice call out to her. She turned around and saw T.K running towards her.

She smiled up at him, taking in how cute he looked with his blond hair, blue eyes, and hat. "Hey, T.K. What's up?"

"I was thinking…since the History project is due in a week, maybe we should go to my house and get a start on it?" he asked, sounding quite shy.

"That sounds like a great idea," Kari said, smiling warmly at him. "Besides, Davis is in the library, and I don't want to be distracted by him hitting on me."

"Man, he always does like to hit on you, huh?" T.K said as they walked out the gates of the school.

Kari thought she was dreaming, but it sounded like T.K sounded a teeny bit jealous. She turned her head to look at him, but the expression on his face was perfectly neutral.

"Yeah. It's like his hobby or something," Kari said, shaking her head with a rueful grin. "Remember that one time he came up with how he was going to save me, 'Princess Kari?'"

"And I remember you saying that it was supposed to be science fiction, not a complete fantasy!" T.K put in, laughing.

"Those were pretty good times, even though we had to keep fighting off villains in the Digiworld," Kari said. A slight breeze blew and she pushed her brown hair back behind her ear.

"I'm glad that our Digimon can come and visit us whenever they want," T.K said as they continued walking through the streets of Odaiba back to his house.

"They always want to stay very long. They love our food," Kari said, laughing. She felt so happy when she was around T.K, and he always made her laugh.

They finally arrived at T.K's apartment building. Somehow, they ended up the only ones in the elevator.

Silence hung between them, and Kari felt her heart race faster. How could T.K not sense what she felt for him? She loved him so much that if something ever happened to him, she would never be able to bear it.

Unconsciously, she found her eyes dropping down to his lips but she caught herself. _Don't think about things like tha_t, she scolded herself.

Meanwhile, T.K was staring at Kari's face and marveling at how beautiful she was. Everything about her was beautiful, from those sweet gentle eyes, to her hair, her face, even her personality…

_How could I never have noticed that before?_ he asked himself. _And I wonder if she'd ever fall for Davis, even though he's so annoying but he's made it no secret he likes her…I have to tell her how I feel_.

"Kari, I want to tell you something," he began.

Kari looked up at him, but what might've been a romantic moment was ruined by the elevator doors opening.

Gatomon and Patamon immediately dashed into the elevator. "We have an emergency!" Gatomon shouted. Patamon looked extremely worried.

"W-what happened?" Kari asked, tearing her gaze away from T.K. She felt so disappointed. What had T.K been planning to say to her?"

"My tail ring's missing!"

* * *

**Author's note**: So after 2 months of leaving this fanfic, I'm finally writing for this again! Probably gunna wrap it up in 1 or 2 chapters. Reviews greatly appreciated :)


	5. Chapter 5 I Love You

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 5 I Love You

"_What_?" Kari demanded. Fear swept through her. The tail ring increased Gatomon's power to Digivolve. If she didn't have it, the loss of her tail ring would weaken her, and it would be extremely bad if an evil Digimon found it. They had to find it as fast as possible.

"We looked all over T.K's apartment, but it's not there," Patamon put in, flapping his wings.

"Are you sure you looked all over the apartment?" T.K asked, stepping out of the elevator with Kari.

"Yeah! We even checked the toilet," Patamon said, looking grossed out. "Nothing there."

"Gatomon, where was the last place you remember you had your tail ring?" Kari asked, trying to remain calm.

"Er….I think it could be anywhere between the walk from school back to T.K's," Gatomon said, twirling her tail in her paws and looking at the floor. "Because me and Patamon decided to go out for a walk."

T.K groaned. "So it's anywhere…between here and school for two and a half miles?"

"Probably?" Patamon managed to squeak out.

Kari turned to T.K. "I'm sorry, but I think we have to put our project on hold. I need to help Gatomon look for her tail ring."

"No, it's alright. In fact, why don't I come with Patamon? Four pairs of eyes are better than two," T.K offered.

Behind their backs, Gatomon and Patamon were making gleeful faces at each other. Their plan might actually work!

Kari thought this over for a moment, and shrugged. "Okay, if you want."

Suddenly, her stomach made a sound, and she blushed in embarrassment. "I'm…not hungry!" she protested when T.K turned to her and raised his eyebrow at her. "Really, I'm not. Let's go look for Gatomon's tail ring!"

"Kari, you probably haven't eaten since lunch," T.K said, walking to his apartment and unlocking it. "Eat something first, and then we'll look for her tail ring."

"Uhm…okay," Kari agreed, putting her hand over her stomach to quiet it. She really didn't want to admit it, but she was very hungry. Only a sandwich and a juice box for lunch weren't very filling.

Kari walked into T.K's apartment, and then turned around. "Don't you guys need to eat?" she asked, looking at Gatomon and Patamon.

"We thought you'd never ask," Gatomon said. "But we already ate, so we'll just wait out here."

"Just come in before someone sees you and starts screaming," T.K called from inside.

The two Digimon shrugged and went inside to T.K's.

"Sorry it's a bit of a mess," T.K said sheepishly, nudging aside a pile of laundry on the floor. "Matt decided to live here for a week, and he's still as messy as ever."

"That's okay," Kari said with a laugh. "Tai's room is the worst. All his uniforms are everywhere, and his books…he'd be so mad if I told you. Mom hates going into his room but she can't do anything about it."

T.K laughed as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of tropical fruit juice. "I love drinking that!" Kari exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Too bad Mom tries to make juice on her own and even though it does have fruit…kind of questionable."

He poured the juice into two glasses before he put the carton away. He took out some sushi leftovers from the fridge and asked, "Do you want to eat sushi warm, or cold?"

Kari hesitated. "I'll eat it cold."

They sat down and quickly finished off their sushi snack. Kari got up and put her dish and glass into the sink. "Hey, T.K, where's the dishwasher soap?" she called.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it," he said hastily, standing up and taking the dishes from her. He's such a gentleman, Kari thought, feeling a slight warmth spread over her cheeks.

"Okay, let's search for Gatomon's tail ring," he said as everyone stepped out of his apartment. He locked the door behind him and stuck the key into his pocket as they walked into the elevator. "So, how should we split up?"

"I'll…go with Patamon," Gatomon said, a slight blush in her white cheeks.

"Okay, I'll just go with T.K," Kari said. "But where will we meet?"

"If you can't find it in half an hour, then meet at the school," Gatomon advised as she dashed out of the elevator with Patamon on her heels.

"Uhm…okay," Kari said. She turned to T.K with a sigh. "So guess we'll have a while to look, huh…"

"It's okay," T.K said with a shrug. He was secretly delighted that he would have a chance to spend time with Kari alone. Usually they were surrounded by their friends, or with their siblings, so they usually didn't get to be alone.

"Let's get started," she said as they walked out of the elevator.

* * *

Half an hour later, and tail ring-less, Kari and T.K walked to the gates of their junior high, looking extremely tired and defeated.

"We've been through every blade of grass and hole in the distance from here to home," Kari said, feeling extremely frustrated. "Is it that hard to locate a gold tail ring?"

"It's still light out too," T.K added, looking every bit as frustrated as her. He put his hand over his blue eyes and frowned. "No sign of it here either…"

Gatomon and Patamon now come around the corner. There wasn't a tail ring on Gatomon's tail, and they both didn't look very happy. "Any luck?" Patamon asked T.K as he fluttered up and perched on his shoulder.

T.K shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "Nothing shiny either. Are you sure there's somewhere you went that you might've forgotten about?"

Gatomon frowned, scrunching her face up in concentration. "No…?"

"We went to the river," Patamon interrupted. Gatomon blushed, her white cheeks going pink.

"Why did you go to the river?" T.K asked somewhat suspiciously.

"So we could…spend time together," Patamon said sheepishly. The funny thing about this was that he really was telling the truth – he'd gone to the river with Gatomon to spend time with her.

Kari sighed. "And off to the river we go."

"We already checked," Patamon said, giving Gatomon a covert look. She scowled at him from behind Kari.

Neither of their owners noticed. "We might as well go back and check," Kari said with a sigh. "Our eyes might be able to catch it."

T.K nodded and started heading out past the school gates. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

By the time Kari and T.K reached the river, the sun was low in the sky, casting a warm golden glow over everything. Not quite sunset.

"Let's look over here," T.K suggested as they walked down to the river. "Gatomon, where was the…"

He trailed off to see Gatomon and Patamon chasing each other in the opposite direction, and sighed.

Kari giggled. "At least they look like they're having fun."

T.K shrugged and bent down to look for the tail ring along the water's edge. He was trying to fight back looking at her, or surely all his feelings for her would spill out. Especially now that they were alone, with the exception of their two Digimon.

Kari sighed and dropped to her knees to look as well. _We're alone now…but he's barely looking at me. Am I really that hard to look at? _she wondered sadly as she crawled along, looking for any sign of the missing tail ring.

Ten minutes passed with them looking by the water's edge. "It's not here!" Kari sighed, sitting down on the ground with a loud sigh. "Ugh…"

"We'll find it, Kari," T.K soothed, putting his arms around her to comfort her. When their skin touched, Kari felt warm all over, and shivered at his touch.

T.K quickly let go of her, and looked away, his cheeks burning. "Uh…sorry."

"It's fine," Kari said. _Why did he let go of me so fast?_

Her frustration bubbled over, which was unlike her. She now stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you not looking at me even now? Am I really that hard to look at?"

T.K stared at her, but recovered himself. He'd never seen Kari so agitated. "No, no! It's not that. You're…very pretty." He blushed instantly and thought, _Now why did I say that?_

Kari looked like she was going to cry. "Really? Then I must not be pretty enough for you to even look at me." She turned on her heel, and was about to stomp off, but T.K grabbed hold of her arm.

"No, it's not like that! Please, listen to me, Kari." His voice cracked with emotion.

Stunned, Kari slowly turned around so that they were facing each other.

"I'm so tired of holding this back," he burst out, much to her surprise. He looked down into her warm eyes. "Kari, I love you. It's because I love you that I can't look at you, knowing that you don't feel the same way about me. I think I've loved you ever since you came to join us on our trip to the Digiworld four years ago. When you got so sick that time in the Digiworld…I was terrified you'd never wake up. And I was so scared when you vanished to the Dark Ocean not so long ago, because I thought I was going to lose you."

Kari stared up at him, her eyes wide and her heart racing in her chest. "T.K…I never knew you loved me. You're such a guy sometimes. I love you too, T.K. I don't know when I fell in love with you, but I know it's always been you."

A shy smile crossed T.K's face, and he took her hands in his. "Really?"

"Yes," Kari said, smiling up at him.

There was a slight pause, but it wasn't uncomfortable. "So…would you like to go out sometime?"

Kari blushed quite pink but she nodded, her heart filling with happiness. "Yes, I would."

At that moment, Patamon and Gatomon ran out from the bushes. "Congrats, you guys!" Gatomon said, clapping her paws together. "You finally got together."

"W-what?" Kari stammered, her cheeks going even pinker as T.K put his arm around her.

"We've been waiting for you guys to get together," Patamon said as he flapped his wings and settled on top of T.K's head. "Let's go home now!"

T.K and Kari smiled at each other, and they walked to T.K's home, holding hands the whole way.

* * *

Just one more chapter to go...want to give a big thank-you to those of you who've actually been reading this :)


	6. Chapter 6 Moonlit River

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon.

* * *

Ch. 6 Moonlit River

When Kari went to school the next morning, T.K was waiting for her by the gate, a slight smile on his face.

"Hey, T.K.," she said as she walked over to him.

"Hi, Kari," he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Uhm...can I walk you to class?"

Kari nodded, and they started heading towards Kari's math class.

T.K looked over at her hesitantly, and brushed his hand tentatively against hers. Without really thinking about it, Kari took his hand, and they were holding hands just like last night.

"I wonder what Davis would do," Kari mused without really thinking.

T.K almost froze. "Wait, what?"

Kari turned to look at him, a question in her eyes. "I'm sure our friends will find out eventually…and so does Matt…"

"Does Tai know?" T.K asked warily. It was well-known that Tai could be pretty protective of his little sister.

"Yeah," Kari admitted. "He said he wants to have a little 'chat' with you tomorrow, but I made him promise not to kill you."

"I guess that's a start…" T.K said, still not looking very sure.

Ten minutes into lunch, Yolei looked around for Kari and T.K. "Where are those two?" she wondered aloud. "They've never been this late."

Davis shrugged as he kept eating his lunch. Cody looked around the cafeteria and widened his eyes. "There they are."

Yolei followed his gaze across the room and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "WHAT?"

"Don't be so loud," Cody hissed, pointing over at Davis, who was still absorbed in eating his lunch. "We're about to get it."

"You can say that again," Yolei agreed as the couple came closer.

"Hey guys!" T.K said cheerily, waving to everyone.

"Hi, T.J," Davis said in a bored voice without looking up.

Kari and T.K exchanged a look. When should we tell him? they seemed to be asking each other.

Finally, T.K looked up and announced, "I got together with Kari!"

"WHAT?" Davis shouted, finally looking up from his lunch. "DID YOU JUST SAY YOU'RE WITH KARI?"

"I'm going out with Kari," T.K said, looking extremely amused. Kari giggled as he slipped his hand through hers.

Yolei applauded. "That's amazing, you guys! I'm so glad you finally got together."

"HOW COULD YOU MAKE HER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU, T.A? DID YOU PUT A SPELL ON HER?" Davis yelled. Silence fell in the cafeteria and the nearest tables were looking over at them.

Kari groaned, and hid her face in T.K's shoulder before she sat up. "Don't kid yourself, Davis! When was I ever in love with you?"

There was nothing Davis could say to that. He was still staring at the couple in shock, muttering incoherent words.

"Poor Davis," Yolei said, shaking her head. "But I'm sure he'll recover from it in enough time."

Once lunch had ended, T.K walked Kari to her Math class. He caught hold of her hands and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks grew warm as his hand brushed against her cheek and down to her neck. "Kari, let's go on a date tonight," he whispered.

"A date?" she repeated, looking up into his blue eyes.

He nodded. "Let's go back to the river where I confessed to you last night."

Kari felt like she could see stars. A date with T.K, in what sounded like a romantic place…

"Yeah, let's go," she agreed, her heart racing.

"Meet me there at 8 tonight," T.K suggested. "I'll bring a picnic dinner."

Kari gently laughed, and brushed away a lock of his hair that had fallen into his eyes. "Okay, then. I'll bring some candles and a little more food."

They said good-bye and parted for class.

* * *

Kari strolled down to the river with a basket full of candles, a picnic blanket, and some sandwiches and mini sushi rolls. Gatomon walked by her side, her blue eyes gleaming in the starlight.

"It's pretty dark," Kari said as they waited at a crosswalk. "Will everything be okay?"

"Yes, it will," Gatomon said assuredly. "And if anything happens, Patamon and I will Digivolve to save you."

Kari laughed as the light changed and they walked. "Thanks, but I really hope that it won't come to that. I'm kind of worried about…what if he tries to kiss me?"

Gatomon really turned red now, and pretended to be extremely interested in the road ahead of them. "Just…be natural!" she said, trying to sound lighthearted but failing miserably.

Kari raised an eyebrow at her Digimon as they arrived at the river. "Gatomon, are you holding something back? Tell me!"

"Patamon….kissed me yesterday," Gatomon admitted, blushing so much her cheeks didn't have any white in them.

"That is so cute!" Kari said. "Congrats!"

"Thanks," Gatomon said, her cheeks finally going back to its regular white.

"But you know….how your Digivolution of Angewomon matches Patamon's Angemon? I think that was always a sign," Kari said.

Gatomon blushed but then she saw T.K approaching with Patamon. "Here they come!"

T.K was holding a basket and Patamon was perched on his shoulder, just like old times. "Hey, Kari."

"Hey, T.K," Kari said, trying not to sound too nervous. Her stomach felt so nervous though, even though she hadn't eaten anything.

She knelt so she could spread out the picnic blanket, and then she and T.K sat on it. Patamon and Gatomon were nowhere to be seen, presumably chasing each other around or hiding.

T.K opened his basket to reveal several pieces of fried chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, several wrapped bowls of ramen, a small container of tempura ice cream, and mochi.

"How did you get all that food?" Kari asked as she lit two candles, which gave the air around them a soft, romantic glow.

T.K smiled at her as he began to sort out the food for both of them. "I told my mom that you were having a potluck."

Kari laughed. "That's what I told my mom! And I had to make all the food myself since you know how bad she is at cooking."

They quietly ate their picnic in silence, while gazing across the river. The lights of the buildings across the river twinkled, and starlight shone across the river. There weren't any clouds in the night sky so the moon and stars shone brightly.

"This is the best date ever," Kari said quietly when they'd finished most of their food and were about to start on their dessert. "Thank you for suggesting it."

"No problem," T.K said with a smile as they started in on their ice cream.

A few minutes later, when they were finishing their mochi, T.K laughed.

"What's so funny?" Kari asked, quizzically tilting her head.

"You have some sugar at the corner of your mouth," T.K said, trying not to smile. "But you still look so cute."

Kari blushed as he reached over to dab at her mouth with a napkin. He didn't move away, and it was like gravity shifted.

Slowly, T.K leaned in even closer, closing the distance between them and tentatively kissed her.

Kari's heart was racing uncontrollably, but she closed her eyes and held him close as she kissed him back. It felt like the entire world had vanished and it was only the two of them as they just sat there kissing each other. In the distance, there was the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky.

* * *

**Author's note**: So this concludes _The Love of Light and Hope_. Thank you to everyone who actually read this! :) I hope to write some more Digimon fanfics in the future.


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